Tsugiharu returned to the library. He still had answers he was trying to find. He was also being called out by a (probably) irate Crab, so it seemed efficient to combine the two futile efforts into one especially futile effort.

He shone his conelantern about, continuing the hunt for books while he waited for the Crab to show.

Akemi wasn't exactly sure which Spider she was looking for but luckily it seems there was only a single one in the vicinity today.

"Kuchiki Tsugiharu-sama?" she asked.

'Sama' wasn't a term Tsugiharu was used to hearing apply to his name, and turning to see the speaker, it was definitely not one he would have ever dreamed would say so. Wasn't she supposed to greet him with scorn and a headbutt?

He bowed respectfully.

"I am. I take it you are the mysterious Hida Akemi, whose name is whispered upon the wind leading me to have to ask a Firefly I had just met for your communicator information?"

She sighed:

"Yes, I'm Hida Akemi, and you're indeed the man I'm looking for. Unless Moshi Atena used her wind whisper trick on several Spider in the last days."

She bowed her head and took a seat, ready for a long conversation:

"Have you met or heard about Komori Kystal?"

Tsughiaru nodded.

"Indeed. The last I saw of her was at midnight in a dirt crab sake bar with a rather vicious wound."

He shook his head.

"Really. I've no idea why I went there. Crab bars at midnight on the wrong side of town are not places for smart Spiders to be."

Akemi nodded:

"I also have no idea why Atena refused to be healed by the Phoenix at the site of the incident or in her room. Would have been so much simpler that this terrible Crab-Spider joint operation."

She joined her fingertips:

"I was kind of hoping you could help me understand that mess actually. As far as I know, you're one of the very few people she trusts enough to have shown both sides of her to."

Tsugiharu titled his head at that. Why did this Crab care about a topic that most would not discuss at all?

"Hmm, before I do, Hida-san, would you be willing to share what your interactions with her have been like? I believe I know what the issue is, but your knowledge, untainted by my own assumptions could prove very valuable." he requested.

"Full story short version?

She is my roommate. A bit shy and nervous, but nothing that special. Then one night I pick her up after she fainted at the arcade, and she says she's Komori Kystal, her other personality that pops up when the original cannot cope with the situation.

After that, she tried to explain some psychology concepts to me but it kind of went over my head. Just understood that 'Atena' and 'Komori' disagree on a lot of things, and that the later is extremely averse to accepting external help.

Komori resurfaced during the boat attack, as you know, and since then Atena seems even more unstable."

Tsugiharu frowned as he took in the data.

"Hmm, can you elaborate on 'less stable', Hida-san?" he asked, seeking clarification.

"It's just an impression, but it seems to me that since she saw her boyfriend getting cut in two by a sea monster and she herself brushed past death, she has stopped doing things because Kystal wouldn't approve of them, whatever that means.

On the other hand, she seems more confident as Atena, which is probably kind of a good thing?"

Well that was new data.

"Hmm. Well, I can give you my thoughts on the matter, Hida-san, but please keep in mind that the data is far from complete." he offered.

"Sometime in the past, Moshi Atena suffered trauma that she could not mentally process. And so 'Komori Kystal' was invented so she could handle it. You could say that they have sort of a love-hate relationship with each other. Atena wishes she were outgoing, confident and brave like Kystal, but she shuns the negative aspects of being such a person, such as being obnoxious, annoying, and foolhardy. Kystal wants to protect Atena, but she also wishes that Atena did not need such protection."

"Okay. Guess it more or less matches my own impression.

But now for the next step: How to solve that issue before a utterly confused and conflicted priestess of the Kami starts using less harmless spells that wind whispers. On herself or on others."

Tsugiharu shook his head.

"It's a pretty extensive injury, Hida-san. Credit where credit is due, the Kuni family of the Crab clan were healing this level of mental trauma back when all the other clans of the single planet Empire were simply writing these people off as 'Touched by the Sun'. But you're looking at something that takes years of effort to heal, not something you can simply sneak in between miai dates."

He glanced over at the Crab's metal arm.

"Of course, when damage is extensive, sometimes one must simply remove the damaged piece, which might explain her reluctance to seek medical treatment from the Phoenix lest they do just that."

"Remove... I don't think a lot of people would agree to that. Do even the Phoenix have the science to proceed to that kind of... brain's surgery? That does sound like the kind of things only Ku-shugenja would dare to try."

A small shrug.

"I'm not an expert on the state of Phoenix medical knowledge, Hida-san. And it's not really a procedure I would recommend. It's not like there is a fleshcraft brain you can replace the removed bits with...they're just less forever. But if you wanted to render her not a threat without killing her, that would do it."

He tapped his chin.

"Although, I suppose you could just steal her densai. As her roommate you'd have easy access to her possessions while she slept, and without it she probably can't perform the rituals to invoke the kami." he suggested.

Akemi gave him a dark eye:

"Okay, this conversation has moved way too quickly from helping to maiming. I didn't realize what the operation was for at first.

None of this magic stuff that could actually help? I know the Phoenix doctor cast a spell on her after her malaise for once."

Tsugiharu shrugged.

"Just trying to give you options, Hida-san. I didn't say they would all be pleasant ones. Magic will probably not offer the kind of solution you want, unless the elemental master of Void is on your communicator list."

"Understand, part of magic is communicating what is wanted to the elemental kami, and the other part is whether it's within their power to grant. The water kami understand the disruption of water's flow when they're called upon to heal wounds, the earth kami understand impurities when called upon to flush out toxins, the fire kami can act as a forge for items that are broken, and with enough talent, the air kami can trick the mind for a short time."

He shook his head.

"But to mend a mind so badly broken it is nearly split in two? The kami don't really understand that. It's not physical damage to mend, you're asking them to fix how the person thinks, and the kami think so differently from us, it's not easy to communicate. Which is probably for the best, being able to wholesale overwrite someone's brain like a holotape is a power that people would abuse, were it possible."

Somwhere within the Library, Nishida was looking for Answers for himself,...

----
Don't mind me, just using the Timeslot, but you can approach me if you like

"Fine, I'll guess there is nothing else to do than to accept the state things are for now.

Out of curiosity, what is the years-long procedure you were talking about before?"

Tsugiharu nodded.

"People have to support Atena. Get her to realize she's strong enough to deal with trauma herself, she doesn't need a Komori Kystal to handle things. If given enough time and support, the rift between the two can mend. It's not an easy or fast process. She'll have good days, and she'll have bad days, she needs support on both. For most, it's simply easier to write her off as broken and ignore her." he offered.